27 ms·

All I know is I have business degree from California State university, I also worked at Health Net (an HMO provider in California, and Tricare provider at the t

All I know is I have business degree from California State university, I also worked at Health Net (an HMO provider in California, and Tricare provider at the time in the East coast) and did medical analytics systems that helped improve patient outcomes, both for facility care and chronic care. I now work for Bank of America and I work in the department that is untangling the mess of the toxic assets (I technically work for Countrywide, if that helps). Oh, and I develop software for a living. I have not the foggiest idea how health care works in America anymore. It has become so complicated, so byzantine, that there's no possible way it could be fair, as some get lucky, and some don't, and there's little anyone can do about it anymore. All I see it doing is feeding a massive bureaucracy, at inordinately high costs. And this is supposed to be the solution?

angersock 13y ago
but but but free market privatization you cant let sick people get a free ride why do you hate america ( This appears to be the reasoning. It's completetly fucked in the head. There is not a single angle you can look at healthcare from which does not make things look terrible. It is a fractal of sadness and poor decisions. )
penguindev 13y ago
The ACA arguably makes a few things more 'fair' but it's still profiteering sick care via cost shifting. Drug companies seem to have an incentive to get $5000/yr treating type 2 diabetes (i.e. carb intolerance) rather than telling people to stop eating so many carbs. The doctors and insurance companies just go along with it, as there doesn't seem to be an economic disincentive for them. I know first hand that is bullshit, so I have to wonder how many other things are rotten (statins vs diet). If we actually cared about health in this country, we'd probably ban most of the current food production 'technologies' and stop subsidizing/pushing carbs [edit: for everybody; some people can handle them]. But healthy people don't grow GDP, having bypasses and perpetually treated diseases grows GDP, and god knows all this country cares about is the GDP number.
- zanny 13y ago
  > But healthy people don't grow GDP, having bypasses and perpetually treated diseases grows GDP, and god knows all this country cares about is the GDP number. I get that this is supposed to reflect the "for profit healthcare industries are fucking you over to make their buck" but the reason every first world nation on the planet has single payer is because it grows your GDP to not have a perpetually ill populace that consumes extremely expensive hospital procedures as last resorts before declaring bankruptcy on a million dollar bill while being prescribed a half dozen drugs they don't need by profiteering big pharma companies being subsidized and given monopolies by a corrupt state.
apawloski 13y ago
(Honest question) What's the confusing part about health insurance?
- chris_mahan 13y ago
  I get a bill. What am I supposed to pay? Anyway, I have dental, vision, medical, from my employer. That's not that bad since they do all the paperwork. I said "how health care works". It's more than insurance.

angersock 13y ago

but but but free market privatization you cant let sick people get a free ride why do you hate america ( This appears to be the reasoning. It's completetly fucked in the head. There is not a single angle you can look at healthcare from which does not make things look terrible. It is a fractal of sadness and poor decisions. )

penguindev 13y ago

The ACA arguably makes a few things more 'fair' but it's still profiteering sick care via cost shifting. Drug companies seem to have an incentive to get $5000/yr treating type 2 diabetes (i.e. carb intolerance) rather than telling people to stop eating so many carbs. The doctors and insurance companies just go along with it, as there doesn't seem to be an economic disincentive for them. I know first hand that is bullshit, so I have to wonder how many other things are rotten (statins vs diet). If we actually cared about health in this country, we'd probably ban most of the current food production 'technologies' and stop subsidizing/pushing carbs [edit: for everybody; some people can handle them]. But healthy people don't grow GDP, having bypasses and perpetually treated diseases grows GDP, and god knows all this country cares about is the GDP number.

zanny 13y ago
> But healthy people don't grow GDP, having bypasses and perpetually treated diseases grows GDP, and god knows all this country cares about is the GDP number. I get that this is supposed to reflect the "for profit healthcare industries are fucking you over to make their buck" but the reason every first world nation on the planet has single payer is because it grows your GDP to not have a perpetually ill populace that consumes extremely expensive hospital procedures as last resorts before declaring bankruptcy on a million dollar bill while being prescribed a half dozen drugs they don't need by profiteering big pharma companies being subsidized and given monopolies by a corrupt state.

apawloski 13y ago

(Honest question) What's the confusing part about health insurance?

chris_mahan 13y ago
I get a bill. What am I supposed to pay? Anyway, I have dental, vision, medical, from my employer. That's not that bad since they do all the paperwork. I said "how health care works". It's more than insurance.